


I'll Always Be Sweet on You

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Disney World & Disneyland, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Multi, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rating May Change, Wedding Fluff, irish steve is very important in this, not AOU compliant, rated for language, team america, this is chock-full of superheroes im not even sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-05 08:36:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4173165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What if he doesn't say yes?"</p><p>“C'mon, he'll totally say yes," Sam points out, "Can you imagine the reception? An Avenger’s wedding where two Avengers get married."</p><p>“He’s right,” Clint cuts in, “you're both famous superheroes. He's smart enough to be apart of the Avengers, he’s smart enough to say yes if you propose.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Call Me Sugar and I'll Call You Honey

**Author's Note:**

> this focuses mostly on Steve and Bucky but Clint Nat and Sam have larger roles than the other characters too\

“But what if he doesn't say yes, guys?”

Sam snorts from where he’s sitting on top of the kitchen counter. He goes to open his mouth to say something but Natasha cuts him off, “don't be an idiot, he'll say yes.”

“She’s right, y'know,” Clint chimes in from near the fridge, box of powdered donuts in hand. He extends the box towards them, when no one moves to take one he adds, “they’re from Gilly’s down the street” (everyone grabs two).

“C'mon, though, he'll totally say yes. Can you imagine the reception? An Avenger’s wedding with _two_  Avengers getting married,” Sam adds as he licks the powder off his fingers.

“He’s right,” Clint points out, “you're both famous and superheroes. If he’s smart enough to be apart of the Avengers, he’s smart enough to say yes if you propose.”

Natasha nods, grin wicked, “I don’t mean to jump ahead, but tell me at least one of you guys will wear your military uniform.” When the three men give her weird looks, Natasha rolls her eyes and says, “American veterans and the press would love it.”

“They just like the way it makes their asses look, Tasha,” Clint says, making Sam bark out a laugh. “I mean same, but there’s no reason to be so forward about it.” Natasha shrugs in a ‘what are you gonna do about it’ manner, which causes Sam to fall off the arm of the couch, laughing.

“Fuck you guys,” she grins as she gestures at them with the pistol she’s cleaning. “You,” she says, pointing the gun at her friend, “better make this proposal damn special, your boy deserves the best.”

“Don’t I fucking know it, Nat.”

—

He’s nervous as fuck, in all honesty. Bucky had suggested they go out for dinner. Like, out to _dinner_. Meaning Steve would have to wear something nice that didn’t have American flags sewed onto the inside of it. Yeah, fuck Tony for being the one to provide dress attire for his Galas aka the only fancy thing Steve ever attends.

“Dude, chill out,” Clint laughs from where he’s hanging from the ceiling. The four of them (Steve, Clint, Nat, and Sam) are on Clint’s floor where Sam, Natasha and Clint are playing video games. They had switched over to playing a multiplayer game online (Call of Duty? Halo Reach? Steve doesn’t really know.) a few minutes after Steve had showed up. Sam is sitting on the same couch as Steve, Natasha’s on the recliner, and Clint is… Clint’s taped to the ceiling?

“Six rolls of duct tape,” Sam says, “we used six rolls of fucking duct tape to get him to stick.” He doesn’t take his eyes off the game when Steve opens his mouth to say something, “we made sure he went to the bathroom before we started.” Steve snaps his mouth shut, of course Sam would gain Natasha’s power of knowing what people are gonna say.

Speak of the devil, “he’s right, you’ve two been dating for- CLINT, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT -eighty years.”

Steve, choosing to ignore her yelling, groans and replies, “yeah, but we haven't had a fancy dinner date in forever. Actually, we've never had a fancy dinner date. Everything we've done that required dressing up was for Stark’s .”

“Why are you even worried, if anything goes wrong, which it _won’t_ , you’ve had to deal with worse. Nothing’s worse than your boyfriend trying to kill you, man,” Sam interjects.

“Brainwashed assassin almost kills super-soldier boyfriend, only to stop at last moment because of true love. It’s the plot to a bad romance novel.”

“Thanks Clint,” Steve replies, “I hadn’t realized.” He rolls his eyes and picks up a controller, “I want in on the next game.”

The other three Avengers look at each other and back at Steve. The blond’s known for being competitive and mouthy as fuck when playing games with other people. Maybe a little _too_  mouthy for playing against teen boys (which, honestly, is saying something). Steve is technically the youngest of the Avengers, though, so they usually let it slide. “Only ‘cause these kids are assholes and I won’t feel bad if you make ‘em cry,” Clint laughs, tossing him a mic. Steve manages to win three rounds before Jarvis tells him he has an hour to get ready for his date.

“You’ll be fine, Rogers,” Natasha calls after him when he bumps into the door, “but don’t go knocking into shit on your date. It’s bad etiquette.” He shuts the door angrily, effectively cutting off her laughter.

On his way upstairs, Steve runs into Kate, America, and to Steve’s surprise, Carol and Jess on their way out of the elevator. When Steve notices Carol, he grins and salutes, which Jessica laughs at. “Hey Rogers,” Carol grins, smacking him on the arm so he stops saluting.

The four girls are dressed in all black clothes and paintball gear. They all have a gun in hand, except Jessica who has two and a wicked grin plastered on her face. They’re decked out in full gear; wearing helmets with their code names on them, and Steve doesn’t wanna know who’s idea that was.

“Xavier’s school is having a fundraiser event,” Jessica says in way of explanation, “plus it’s fun as fuck.”

“Jessica!” Carol laughs, slapping Jess’ arm, “language.”

“Oh fuck no, are you guys still making fun of me for that? It’s been over two years,” Steve groans as he moves into the elevator.

Carol snorts and motions with her gun towards America and Kate, “Jess has a habit of swearing in front of kids.” Kate sends her a glare and the 19 year old looks like she’s going to strangle someone, “Although I always like poking fun so take it as you like.”

“Whatever, Cap,” Steve laughs as the doors closing.

“That’s colonel to you, Cap!” She throws back, grin wide as the doors seal Steve inside the elevator.

He passes Bruce in the kitchen when he grabs a water bottle before heading to his floor. The scientist had only winked and muttered something about good luck. With _his_  luck, Tony would already know of his dinner plans and bug him about not going to one of the restaurants he owns.

Thankfully he manages to sneak past Tony’s workshop and up the stairs without the shorter man harassing him about his date. When Steve steps onto his floor, Jarvis announces that Bucky is in the shower and will be out soon.

Steve can hear music and running water coming from the master bathroom. Knowing its not locked, he opens the bathroom door and covers his ears when he notices how loud the music is. Bucky doesn’t seem to notice him as he belts out the chorus to the Taylor Swift song he’s playing until Steve laughs. He laughs even harder when Bucky throws a bottle of shampoo at him.

“Heya, Stevie,” Buck grins as he leans out of the shower, wet hair clinging to his face and covering his eyes. He purses his lips and leans out further, causing Steve to lend him his cheek to kiss. Bucky, not satisfied with only a cheek, grabs the side of Steve’s face and tilts it so he can kiss him on the lips.

When Steve pulls away, he jokingly makes a grossed out face and sticks his tongue out, “gross Buck, you’re all soapy.” The brunet just laughs and pulls him back in for another kiss. Steve pushes back the hair covering Bucky’s eyes and laughs again, pushing him under the spray of the water. “Finish up, we gotta go.”

Bucky, after he washes the soap out of his hair, shuts the water off and gets out. “I’d have asked if you wanted to join,” he smirks as he towels his hair off, “but I think we'd have time for that later- ow! Stop hitting me, punk.” The blond doesn't stop hitting Bucky until he shoves him away, “did you come in for somethin’ or did you just wanna annoy me?”

Steve hums as he grabs a larger towel from the closet, “both,” he says as he wraps the towel around Bucky’s waist and drags him closer. Bucky wraps his arms around Steve and buries his face into his neck. They stand there, holding onto each other in their bathroom, swaying back and forth a little. “I gotta take a quick shower, but you’re more than welcome to join me.”

Bucky shakes his head and mutters into his boyfriend’s neck, “thought we were savin’ that for later.” Steve huffs out a laugh too, but still whacks him lightly on the head. “Nah, I gotta get dressed and bug _somebody_  into giving me the keys to the Cadillac.”

“Like that’s gonna happen,” the blond snorts, “last time you took it out, you got two speeding tickets.” Bucky cusses at him under his breath and threateningly jabs a finger into his stomach. Steve retaliates by digging his fingers into Bucky’s side, tickling him until Bucky has trouble breathing because he’s laughing so hard. Bucky untangles himself from Steve and grins, “you’re just mad because you wanted to take your Harley.”

“I always wanna take out the Harley,” the blond pouts, “and I don’t know why you insist on not riding it tonight.” Bucky only rolls his eyes and points to the closet through the bathroom door. Right, they’re wearing the nice slacks. “Whatever.”

Steve shoos Bucky away so he can take a shower but when he leans over to turn the hot water on, Bucky slaps his ass. When Steve turns around to glare at his boyfriend, the brunet’s towel is on the floor and he’s lying face down on their bed naked. “James Buchanan fucking Barnes,” Steve calls out, “you’re gonna get the bed wet. Go put your clothes on.” Bucky flips him off. Taking cautious measures, Steve shuts the bathroom door before getting in the shower (god knows who could walk in on him). His showers don’t take long when he’s alone, usually 15 minutes if he doesn't let the conditioner sit in his hair for a long time.

There’s slacks and a shirt on his bed and a bouquet of pale (almost white) green flowers on it. A tiny post-it note is stuck to the flowers: “lady at the florist shop across the street said green meant  ~~same sex and~~ devotion ~~-and-~~ . idk how she knew what to suggest. xoxo ~your hot as ' _buck_ ’ boyfriend (;”

He’s torn between crying at Bucky’s cute awkwardness and laughing at the dorky joke at the bottom. He laughs, though, and then gets startled when hands land on his hips. Bucky trails kisses up and down Steve’s neck, face and behind his ear, grinning when his mouth isn't preoccupied. With a laugh, Steve leans into and grinds against Bucky, whose grin falters and mouth falls open. His left hand grips tighter and the right one finds it’s way underneath the towel Steve’s wearing, only to be smacked and moved.

“Stevie,” he whines, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist, “you don’t let me do nothin’ fun anymore.” That gets him a smack on the arm and his boyfriend squirming away. “Steve,” he drawls out, making grabby hands at the blond. “You're a child, Buck, and children aren't allowed to fuck.”

“I'm 98 years old, what the fuck,” Bucky laughs, chucking a pillow at Steve. Steve ducks and gives him a pointed 'I told you so’ look. “Only children make shitty puns in love notes, babe.”

“I’m older than you are.”

“You know what else you are, Buck? Annoyin’ the hell outta me,” Steve huffs as he tries to put on his slacks and avoid the pillows Bucky throws at him. Thankfully there’s no more problems until they're out the door and getting ready to pull out of the garage.

“Sergeant Barnes,” Jarvis begins, voice filtering through the car speakers, “Agent Barton requested I tell you that Mr. Stark has been alerted of your whereabouts. Also Agent Romanoff sends 'kissy noises’.”

“Course she does,” Bucky snorts as he backs up out of the garage quickly. He adjusts the side view mirror to focus on the door to the tower and grins when Tony kicks it open.

Tony's yelling is cut off by the sound of the garage door and Bucky’s laughter. Less than a minute later Steve’s phone is blown up with a snapchat from the other Avengers (minus a select few). Clint sends a video of Lucky winking (and him laughing) with a series of thumbs up emojis. Natasha’s is a recording of Tony yelling, and Bruce's snap is of him locking the door to the lab with Tony’s yells (the same ones from Nat's video) in the distance. After responding to them, Steve makes a point of sending Tony no less than six videos of Bucky driving fast on the expressway. It isn't until they're pulling into the parking lot that Steve gets a snapchat from Sam and Rhodey. They're at the bar with Peter Quill (who has four beers in hand) and the caption “have fun, Cap!”

Steve turns his phone off after that and makes Bucky do the same. It’s a rule they established pretty early on, dates mean no phones unless it’s for pictures. Steve’s shoving the phones into the glove compartment when Bucky comes around and opens the car door for him. Steve rolls his eyes but takes his boyfriend's hand still. When he straightens up, he presses a small kiss to Bucky’s cheek and ignores the sounds of cameras clicking.

It’s not like either of them mind the paparazzi, anymore. Not as much as they used to, at least. The cameras follow them into the restaurant but Bucky glares daggers at them when they follow him up to the podium when he goes to check in. “Table for James Buchanan,” he grits out, eyes not leaving the crowd of photographers. A flash goes off and his metal hand turns into a fist. The waitress looks at Steve the same way one would look at the parent of a rowdy kid, except Steve shrugs and grins smugly.

Steve _is_  the first one to break the staring contest, though. He kisses Bucky’s cheek, grabs his boyfriend’s hand and drags him toward the dining area. He pretends not to notice when Bucky sticks his tongue out at the cameras, just like how Bucky pretends not to see Steve flip them off. It takes a lot more than a group of paps to ruin their moods (especially when they've dealt with larger groups of them). The waitress sits them at a table on the roof, which Steve guesses Bucky had asked for, considering he mouths thank you. It’s still early in Junes, so New York still has a pleasant breeze going on thankfully. There are other couples sitting near them, but like everyone else in NYC, they're only paying attention to themselves. It’s a nice restaurant, Salon De Ning, something people like Tony would eat at. It’s classy enough that Steve doesn’t want to look at the menu prices, which he ends up doing anyway.

Steve can feel Bucky bouncing his leg under the table and frankly, if Bucky wasn't so cute, it would be annoying as fuck. He grabs Bucky’s hand under the wooden table as they order food and kisses his cheek again when the waitress leaves.

“Hey,” Steve whispers, and shit, his eyelashes look long in the candlelight. Bucky ducks his head, feeling the eyes of the people at the table next to them watching, finally having noticed the two Avengers. He squeezes Steve’s hand and smiles, “hey.”

It’s weird, being on a 'date’ with Steve. It’s not like they don’t go on dates, they try to at least once or twice a week, but they don’t really go out to eat at restaurants for dates. Old diners, darkly lit pizza places, pubs too, are more their style. Even those dates usually include bowling or something equally fun. Desperate times call for desperate measures, though.

Out of habit, they both order burgers, albeit these ones don't come come with curly fries and cheese sauce like usual. The waitress comes around again with a bottle of wine, but when she goes to ask if they want any she’s cut off by a cacophony of noises. It sounds like wood cracking, glass shattering and angry yelling.

When Steve moves to go see what happened, Bucky kicks him under the table. When he has Steve's attention he motions toward the waitress, who’s kicking her heels off, “Yelena’s got it.” Steve nods slowly like he doesn't quite get it and Bucky sighs, “she's Natasha’s ex, she was in the Black Widow program too." Steve looks at him pointedly and Bucky groans, "I had to take extra precautions, okay? She works here anyways, so it’s not a big deal.”

“Ok but, when we finish eating, can we order a pizza? These proportions are shit for people who eat as much as we do.” Bucky nods, happy with the change of subject, and they continue eating. The tension that started up goes away when Yelena comes by with the asshole and holds him over the edge of the roof, upside down. Bucky gives her a thumbs up when she drags the douche back downstairs.

The night continues on quickly and without any more problems, thankfully. When Bucky goes to pay (with Tony’s card) he hands Yelena a fifty and grins when she says she wants to go to the shooting range with him.

When Steve leads them outside and stops in front of a motorcycle, Bucky half-groans half-laughs in surprise. “Steve where the fuck did your bike come from?”

“I texted Clint," Steve responds, voice smug.

“I assume he took the car home,” he says (which Steve confirms with a nod) “good 'cause I don't wanna deal with Tony.”

The bike, a newer custom one of Steve’s, is a dark blue, it also has a white star on the back; a gift from Tony and Bruce for Steve and Bucky’s anniversary. The seat is large enough to fit both Steve and Bucky, which was a much harder task to do than originally planned. The other Avengers had joined in with gifts that went with the motorcycle. Clint had gotten them matching red white and blue helmets, Natasha and Wanda made leather jackets for them, and Sam had given them a keyring (with the bike’s key) full of mini figurines of him in different poses in the Falcon outfit.

Clint, being the asshole he is, left the helmets with them when he dropped the bike off. Steve picks up the one that has “Freedom Tits” written on the inside of the visor and hands Bucky the one that says “Murder Thighs.” (Both nicknames written in Natasha’s handwriting). Once Steve has his helmet on, he turns to his boyfriend and tightens Bucky’s helmet’s neck strap for him. Bucky says something but the helmet’s mouthpiece muffles it and Steve has to ask him to repeat it three times before Bucky signs what he’s trying to say.

“We aren’t going home yet, I have one more place I wanna go.”

“Where?” Steve signs back. “Not tellin', it's a secret. I’ll give directions, though,” Bucky signs again and even though Steve can't see his face, he _knows_  Bucky's grinning. Steve doesn't sign anything back but he _does_  smack his boyfriend's helmet before getting on the bike. Bucky sits as close to Steve as he can, wraps his arms around his waist, and rests his chin on Steve’s shoulder. Steve, who's an asshole, revs the engine and moves his hips so they're flush against Bucky’s.

It takes them a little less than an hour to get to where they’re going (Steve’s speeding habits are almost rival to Bucky’s). It’s after midnight when Steve pulls into the parking lot Bucky told him to and parks the bike under a lamp. It should make Steve wary, how dark and isolated the lot is, but Bucky says he knows where they’re going and Steve trusts him.

Before they leave the parking lot, Bucky stops them and makes Steve close his eyes. Grabbing Steve’s hand, Bucky guides him outside and towards a pier. The lights are minimal and scattered, keeping Steve from seeing the outlines of the amusement park rides. The sounds of waves crashing against the beach aren’t loud as the waters are calm in the usual stillness at the end of April. They don’t go under the pier like Bucky wants to, so he sits Steve down at the edge of the pier on a bench.

“Can I open my eyes now, Buck?” Steve asks, small smile on his face as if he knows where they are.

“Yeah,” Bucky laughs breathlessly, giddy off his own excitement, “you can open up your eyes, doll.” Steve flushes slightly at the nickname like he always does but opens his eyes anyways. The first thing he notices is the water a few feet below them through the wooden boards of the pier. The ocean itself is next, along with the boats and lighthouses in the distance. Steve holds his breath as he turns around, smile having grown larger at the idea of being where he thinks he is. Behind them are roller coasters and other buildings, along with the Cyclone, looking almost the same as it did in the 30s.

“Bucky, oh my god,” he breathes as he turns to face his boyfriend. “We’re at-” he starts, but his voice fumbles when Bucky isn’t sitting next to him anymore. Instead, he’s in front of Steve on one knee, looking up at the blond.

“Steven Grant Rogers,” he drawls out, “would you do the honors of making me the happiest man in the galaxy.” He flips open the little box and huffs out a laugh when Steve tries to hide his face, “will you marry me?”

“I’m not sure I can do that,” Steve sniffs, looking back at Bucky, “cause you kinda just made me the happiest man.” Steve slips onto his knees, too, in front of Bucky. He grabs his boyfriends, _fiancés_ , face and kisses him. “God, 'course I’ll marry ya, Buck, be an idiot not too.” He leans down the slight difference to kiss Bucky again. He’s not sure who starts full-on crying first, him or Bucky, but neither notices until their kisses are way too wet. Steve gently pushes Bucky backwards so he can take the ring and put it on.

“I love you, god, Stevie,” Bucky laughs, moving to kiss him again. Their slacks are dirty when they stand up, dirt caked where they were kneeling. Steve doesn’t last thirty seconds before he’s clinging to Bucky again and starting to tear up.

“You’re such a sap, Buck,” Steve mutters into the crook of his fiancés neck, “Coney Island, jesus.” “What can I say,” the brunet grins as he plays with the dog tags around Steve’s neck, “I’m sweet on ya, sugar.” Steve snorts but presses a kiss against Bucky’s shoulder. “How much do you care about the fate of these clothes?” Steve shrugs and hums in a noncommittal tone.

“C'mon,” Bucky whispers, “follow me.”

—

They end up on the beach near the water. They ditched their shoes and rolled the bottoms of their pants up so they wouldn’t get wet. Steve keeps glancing at the ring on his finger and then at Bucky the entire time they walk the shoreline. It’s sickening how sweet they are, holding hands and going for a long walk on a beach at night. They’ve always been full of cliches, though.

They walk for a few hours before heading home, Steve letting Bucky drive them home. They don’t wear their helmets on the ride back, there’s no cars on the road besides them. For the entire ride, Steve _insists_  on kissing Bucky’s cheek whenever he can (well, until he gets yelled at for being distracting).

The upper floors of the tower are dark when they get home, which is understandable as it’s a quarter to four. Neither of them are drunk, they can't be, but the way Steve and Bucky are twirling and dancing together in the elevator _is_  sloppy. They walk through the living room towards the kitchen pressed against each other; Bucky’s arm around Steve’s neck, Steve’s arm around Bucky’s waist. They’re stopped in the living room by the other Avengers (even Thor) who’re watching a movie. They all look up at the two of them, waiting for an answer (except Bruce who’s asleep).

“Well?” Natasha asks, “either of you gonna spill how your date went?”

Bucky snorts in response but soon enough he’s grinning like a maniac again when Steve lifts up his left hand, “we’re engaged.” Tony is, surprisingly, the first one to start the whooping.

Everyone’s smiling and congratulating them when Steve stops dead in his tracks. “Holy shit,” he begins, “we’re gonna get married.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  engagement ring
> 
>   
> happy steve


	2. A Little Publicity Never Hurt No One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spreading the word: interviews, TV appearances, press conferences, magazine shoots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this is kind of a filler chapter but i DID boost up the number of chapters.  
> also there's a lot of time skips going on in this story sorry
> 
> more photos at the end (:

The other Avengers give them a few days to let Steve and Bucky bask in the idea of being engaged, before Pepper sits them down for a talk.

"Alright," she begins, tone the same as the one Maria uses during debriefings, "how are we going to go about this? Are you going to announce your engagement, let people figure it out on their own, or keep it a secret until you've tied the knot?"

Bucky doesn't even miss a beat, instantly stating their choice, "we wanna announce it."

Pepper nods, smile still in place, "alright, what will be the most comfortable way for you guys? Would you prefer releasing a statement to a magazine, on a talk show, in a press conference? I mean you could do something with social media but knowing you guys, I thought you'd prefer a more personal approach."

Bucky nods and turns his head towards Steve, voices lowered as they think through their options. Steve suggests something (or so Pepper guesses) that causes Bucky to smack his arm. When they straighten back up and turn their focus on the red-head, Steve throws her a grin, "is it okay if we kinda do a mix of all of those? We know we want to do a photoshoot with someone who'll focus on the engagement and wedding rather than calling it the _Gay Wedding of the Century_."

"Also," Bucky chimes in, "Peter Parker gets dibs on taking photos of us during the bachelor and engagement parties. But not during the wedding ceremony, because that's a little much. Stevie and I agreed that he can take any photos any time during the day of the wedding, though."

Pepper smiles warmly again, "I like Peter, he's a good kid. Continue on, though, Steve."

"We'll do any interviews and appearances for talk shows, _except_  for with Fox, but that's obvious," Steve says, grin wide, which causes Pepper to laugh. "Unless you want me to deck one of them in the face again." Pepper shakes her head and laughs softly again, so Steve moves onto the last request. "The announcement comes from me and Buck first, though. We'll hold a press conference with whoever shows up, which hopefully, will be everyone."

Pepper, thankfully, agrees to it all. She suggests they do the engagement shoot with People magazine since they have a good record with same-sex marriage. She urges them to dress nice for awhile (which is directed at Bucky, who likes to wear sweatpants _everywhere_ ). Steve kisses Pepper on the cheek and thanks her, knowing she'll make their lives in the public eye less of a living hell for the next few months.

~~\---~~

The press conference is relatively relaxed compared to other one's they've attended. Steve and Bucky opted out of using a podium or sitting down so they're standing in front of a room of journalists and reporters. The other Avengers are on stage too, but they're off to the side. Mostly everyone in the room knows better than to ask bigoted questions at this point, thankfully.

Ben Urich is sitting in the front row, just off to the left of center stage, and Steve smiles at him. Urich, a reporter from Hells Kitchen who's well adjusted to superheroes, smiles and gives him a thumbs up.

Steve and Bucky are both wearing gray suits, although Bucky's is more sheen and Steve's is darker. They're standing side by side on the stage, Steve's got his right arm around Bucky's waist while Bucky's got his metal around Steve's neck. Bucky's got the microphone in his right hand and he's holding it between him and Steve.

"Good evening and thank you for coming," Steve begins, "so I know this is kind of last second, we _did_  only call this together two days ago."

"We know we didn't specify the exact purpose of this press conference so we're both very glad that all of you guys came," Bucky adds, grinning up at Steve.

"I know we didn't officially come out as a couple but in our defense, we haven't been quiet about it," Steve laughs when Bucky kisses his cheek to prove the blond right. "But, uh, the reason we're up here right now isn't to talk about how we're dating-"

"-we're engaged," Bucky cuts in, causing Steve to laugh again. There's clapping in the background and a flash of lights. When Steve and Bucky finally tear their eyes away from each other, almost every reporter has their hand up, wanting to ask questions.

"Steven, James, over here," a younger reporter calls out, "when did you too get engaged?"

"Around two weeks ago, on April 24th," Steve answers as he points to another reporter.

"Who proposed?" another one asks, causing Bucky to grin wide and wave his hand, the one with the mic, at the reporter. "What kind of ring was it?" the same reporter asks, which catches Steve's attention because he never asked.

Bucky blushes slightly and glances back at Tony, "Stark and I worked on designing it together. It's made from the same materiel as his shield, vibranium. The inside of the ring is the same colour blue as Mrs. Rogers wedding dress, because Irish tradition considers blue lucky." Steve nods, flushing, because _of course_  Bucky would remember his mother's dress. Steve had used the fabric from it to make her a dress to be buried in, like she asked, and Bucky's little sister had helped him sew it.

"You're Irish?" a reporter asks and Steve nods again, eyes focused on the floor.

"Both my parents were immigrants from Ireland," Steve explains, "I'm the first in my family to be born in America. My first language isn't English, it's Gaelic, and I grew up with a lot of Celtic traditions in my family too."

As they answer more questions, they purposefully ignore a reporter in the middle of the crowd. The guy isn't known for being friendly, and frankly, Steve wonders how he even got in considering he got kicked out of their last conference. Hell, they've had less problems with Fox reporters compared to this guy. At some point Steve gives up and calls on him anyways, "you, third row in the middle with the Spock hair."

"Captain Rogers," slimy reporter guy says, "how do you think your former flame, Margaret Carter, would respond to the news of you marrying your best friend?"

Steve goes to say something snarky but Bucky covers his mouth with the hand that's still around his neck and answers for him. "Actually," the brunet grins smugly, "I asked Peggy for Steve's hand. We had joked about it during the war and it seemed fitting. It's not like she didn't know we were together before, though. She figured it out right after Steve forcefully hauled my ass out of a Hydra weapons facility."

"You asked Peggy?" Steve questions, "when did you go to DC?"

Bucky ducks his head and flushes, "Uh, y'know when Clint made you go pick-up Kate in California a few months back? Yeah, Sharon and I went while you were gone." A few reporters laugh but not meanly, it's the kind of laugh that sounds like a giggle and you cover your mouth during. "She said yes, of course. _And_  she kind of gave me something to give you," Bucky smiles guiltily. He doesn't wait for Steve to respond before changing the subject by calling on another reporter.

"Barnes, how are you going to go about wearing a wedding ring? Will you get a ring big enough to fit over the metal or will you wear it on your right hand?"

"Over the metal one," Bucky answers, flexing the fingers on his left hand. "Stevie and I have been wanting to do this since before the war, so I wanna do this right."

~~\---~~

Things go much more smoothly from that point on. Steve and Bucky only schedule five TV appearances which all go relatively the same except for one. Bucky _l_ _oves_  Jimmy Fallon, like way more than any other late night TV show host. So he's excited for him and Steve to be on the show and ends up answering almost everything Jimmy asks with a huge grin on his face.

"You guys have been pretty vague on the details of your wedding, is there a reason behind that?"

"We're still early on in the engagement," Steve explains, "and in all honesty we haven't even started a lot of the planning. The closest thing to a date we've got is December."

"Well I hope you guys are going somewhere warm but why December?" Fallon asks, hands folded on his desk.

"There's this old Irish phrase or well, it's kind of a poem," Bucky drawls, joining in. "We decided December was the best because it talked more about those who marry in that month will have a lasting love."

"When December's rain fall fast, marry and true love will last," Steve adds.

Nodding, Fallon seems to except this knowledge and moves on, "ok so I have a game for you guys. You each are gonna get a whiteboard and a marker, then I'll ask you guys questions about each other." The whiteboards have shields painted on the back and the markers have Avengers action figures on the caps. Steve chooses the marker that has the Winter Soldier on it but Bucky purposefully chooses the Falcon marker and sticks his tongue out at Steve, making his fiance laugh.

 _"What's your fiance's self-chosen Harry Potter house?"_  Bucky writes down that Steve's a Slytherin and Steve puts Bucky down as a Hufflepuff. They both explain that they think the other should be a Gryffindor, even though the other thinks they're in a different house.

_("Buck, I'm a Slytherin, I illegally filled out enlistment forms to join the army," Steve laughs, "if that's not Slytherin-y then I don't know what is.")_

_"When did you last give your fiance flowers?"_. Bucky writes down 'this morning and Steve doesn't answer, just writes 'bucky gives me all the flowers in town, where would I get him flowers?'

 _"Where do you want to have your honeymoon?"_  They both write 'Disney World' as big as they can.

"We've been talking about going to Disney World together since we found out it existed," Steve explains.

Bucky cuts in again and says," we _loved_  Disney cartoons growing up, we marathoned almost all of them in one night when I moved back in with him a few years ago."

 _"What is the oddest location you've ever shared a kiss?"_  Steve and Bucky both groan at the same time and Bucky throws his head back. They both answer 'Hydra warehouse' (they don't explain).

Steve's favorite part of their appearance is probably when they read off tweets and couple names for them. (Steve's favorite couple name is 'doing the do since world war two').

~~\---~~

Steve only laughs so hard he cries twice when they do the photoshoot and interview for People magazine. The photoshoot manages to talk about their sexuality while not solely focusing on it. They do pose for a NoH8 photo and talk about homophobia during the 30's but other than that it's all about them and being engaged.

The photographer makes the shoot a living hell, though. He brings out _both_  of their Avengers outfits and has both of them shave whatever facial hair they have (in Steve's case, a full beard). "Baby, I love you, but why am I in this?" Bucky asks, grabbing at the sides of what the other Avengers dub the "buckycap" outfit, "we're practically matching."

"You look cute," Steve replies all smiley as he kisses Bucky's cheek. "Just be glad we don't have Sam here in _his_  Captain America outfit too."

Much to Bucky and Steve's excitement the photographer takes photos of them with replicas of their old army uniforms too. "Hey," Bucky whispers, taking off the dog tags around his own neck, then the ones around Steve's neck, "I have an idea." He hands Steve both the dog tags and pulls him close. "Just put the hand with the tags at the base of my neck, wanna get the tags in the shot," he murmurs, leaning into Steve. The photographer takes a photo of the back of Bucky's head when he kisses Steve, engagement ring and dog tags. (Steve frames that one and hangs it up in their room).

Bucky is, unsurprisingly, a sappy romantic. When the photographer asks if it would be ok to recreate the photo of the soldier and nurse kissing on VE day, and Bucky practically screams yes (and even offers to be the nurse so his metal arm is showing). Steve grins wickedly when he dips Bucky quickly, making the brunet gasp a little. When he leans down to kiss his fiance, Bucky surges up and meets him halfway, which ends up with Steve laughing in the shot instead of _kissing_  Bucky. Steve ruins the photo the next five times they try to take it, too.

First, Steve drops Bucky when he dips him and falls on top of him. Then Steve tickles Bucky until they're in a full-fledged tickle war (which _okay_  makes for _some_  good photos) and then he keeps making funny faces at Bucky. Bucky, who just wants to take the damn photo, dips Steve and kisses him as hard as he can, hoping the photographer takes the fucking photo.

(They get a copy of the magazine in the mail the day it's released. Steve cries when he see's the cover photo is the silhouettes of them kissing in front of an American flag. Bucky tries not to cry too but then he's struck with the thought that they're actually getting married, it's happening.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  steve and bucky at the press conference
> 
>   
> the army uniform im talking about
> 
>   
> idea for the dog tags photo
> 
>   
> the VE day sailor photo they try to recreate
> 
>   
> the cover photo inspiration
> 
> \----
> 
> the poem bucky talks about is this one:
> 
> "Marry when the year is new, always loving, kind, and true.  
> When February birds do mate, you may wed, nor dread your fate.  
> If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.  
> Marry in April when you can, joy for maiden and for man.  
> Marry in the month of May, you will surely rue the day.  
> Marry when June roses blow, over land and sea you'll go.  
> They who in July do wed, must labor always for their bread.  
> Whoever wed in August be, many a change are sure to see.  
> Marry in September's shine, your living will be rich and fine.  
> If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.  
> If you wed in bleak November, only joy will come, remember.  
> When December's rain fall fast, marry and true love will last."


	3. Man's Best Friends are an Avenger's Best Friend too

Bucky's half-asleep watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with Steve when it happens. There's a knock on the door and Steve basically jumps out of bed and runs out the door. Bucky, knowing that it's before 9am and that he is _not_  getting out of bed any time soon, pulls his sleepmask on over his face. It's colder without Steve next to him, though, so he resigns himself to gathering all the blankets around and on top of himself.

 

When Steve comes back he flops on the bed, earning him the middle finger when Bucky almost falls off the bed. Snuggling further into the mountain of blankets surrounding him, Bucky's face is left the only thing showing. Bucky almost falls asleep again when something licks the side of his face. "Steven Grant Rogers."

 

"Yes, honey?" Steve asks, fake innocence dripping in his voice, "what is it?"

 

"Did you just fucking lick my face?" Bucky asks, which causes somebody to snort. "Is that Tony? Did _T_ _ony_  just lick my damn face?"

 

"Open your fucking eyes, Barnes," Natasha snaps, and _that_  wakes Bucky up. Ripping the mask off his face, he sits up straight and glances around the room, noticing Tony, Natasha, and Sam. "Not that I don't like you guys, but why the fuck are you here?"

 

"Look at Steve," Natasha grins, smile _dripping_ with the fact that she knows something he doesn't.

 

Bucky turns his head towards where Steve is on their bed and is met with two wet tongues. Steve's sitting cross-legged facing him, with two puppies in hand and a big dopey smile on his face. "Stevie," Bucky breathes, eyes focused on the dogs in front of him, "who's dogs are these?" Steve only leans in and kisses Bucky's forehead, grin even bigger than before. "You're kidding," Bucky laughs, starting to smile to, "holy shit, you're not kidding."

 

"No, Buck, 'm not kidding. They're ours," he says, moving closer to Bucky and setting one of the dogs on his fiance's lap and the other on his own. Bucky picks up the puppy sitting on his legs and sets it on his chest, kissing its nose. It's all white and has soft fur, which reminds him of Superman's dog in the comics he read when he was on trial.

 

"What are their names?" Sam asks from where he's blocking the doorway.

 

"Only one of 'em has a name," Steve says. "The rescue center had been calling this one Sarge," he lifts the puppy he's holding, "the white one is a newer rescue, 9 weeks, haven't named her yet."

 

"Her name's Sarge?" Tony asks amused, "like, short for sargeant? Somebody named that german sheppard puppy, Sarge." Steve nods, flushing, which makes everyone in the room laugh slightly. "I would have gone for something cooler, like Iron Dog, but whatever."

 

Bucky grins wickedly and rubs the puppies belly when it rolls onto its back, "that means we have to name this one Cap, y'know that right, Stevie?"

 

Tony snorts and rolls his eyes, "you guys are so- what is that dent in the wall? That's a huge fucking dent, how did it get there, these walls are solid like a rock."

 

Bucky and Steve both whip their heads towards each other and _giggle_. "It's nothing Tony," Steve replies, smile fake as hell.

 

"You're still a shit liar, Steve," Natasha grumbles (which gets Steve and Bucky glaring at her without heat).

 

"It's from the shield," Bucky explains, lying through his teeth still but more believably than Steve, "just an accident."

 

"That dent is _far_  from being shield shaped, Barnes," Tony groans, "jesus, it's like living with rabbits, kinky as fuck rabbits."

 

"Rabbits aren't exactly the first thing I would think of," Sam adds.

 

"Lions maybe? I read an article once on how their 'mating bouts' last days," Natasha grins, "they fuck so much during that span of time that they don't even have time to eat."

 

"You guys are assholes," Bucky laughs, poking Cap on her nose, "speaking of assholes, where's Clint?" Sam and Natasha glance at each other quickly before shrugging and avoiding looking at Bucky. "What did you guys do to your boyfriend?"

 

"Steve just bought you two puppies and you think we were just gonna let Clint _roam free_?" Natasha asks, "Hell no, I locked him in a closet after Sam picked the dogs up from the shelter. Those pups wouldn't have made it out of the car if I hadn't, let alone past the fifth floor."

 

"Clint Barton; Dog Snatcher Extraordinare," Tony adds. "The only thing that walking disaster needs in life are dogs, coffee, and arrows." The funny apart about it is that it's not a lie, Clint's love for dogs (and coffee) knows no legal boundaries. Tony's about to say something else when there's a crashing sound and Clint flings himself into the room from Steve and Bucky's bathroom. "How the fuck did angry bird get in here?"

 

"Bathroom window was open," Clint laughs, still breathless from whatever he was doing while eyeing Sarge and Cap, "I'll go through anything for dogs." Bucky laughs and pats the bed, motioning for Clint to sit down. When he does, Bucky sets Cap on his lap and laughs when she instantly climbs her way up to Clint's shoulder. "I want twelve."

 

While Clint has Cap, Bucky leans over the bed and kisses Steve on the forehead. "They're adorable, but," he whispers, "is this your way of saying you wanna move out?

 

"Yeah, kinda," Steve laughs, tilting his head up to catch Bucky's lips, "how'd ya know?"

 

Bucky curls one hand around the back of Steve's neck and smiles into the kiss, "because you got dogs that'll grow up to be big. Big dogs require big yards, just like a big family requires a big house."

 

"Is that _your_  way of saying you want kids," Steve grins, and Bucky's about to answer but Clint yelping catches their attention. Barton's lying on his back on their bed, both puppies sitting on his chest and slobbering all over his face.

 

"Help," Clint giggles, which really only happens when dogs are involved, and tries to sit up. Everyone in the room just shrugs, because hey, they locked him in his room for a reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not sorry here's more dogs
> 
>   
> full-grown sarge and cap
> 
> also I know I don't say it in exact terms, but Tony, Nat, and Sam had the dog and that's why they're there  
> one of them knocked on the door to get steve after the other two picked the the dogs off from the rescue kennel/brought them upstairs


End file.
